


The Marauder's Map

by potterthepoltergeist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Attempt at Humor, Drabble, Fanfiction, Friendship, Gen, Humor, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), One Shot, The Marauder's Map, maybe a little wolfstar?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27828289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potterthepoltergeist/pseuds/potterthepoltergeist
Summary: messrs. moony, wormtail, padfoot, and prongs are proud to present... the marauder's map
Relationships: Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Remus Lupin & James Potter, Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black & James Potter, Sirius Black & Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	The Marauder's Map

**Author's Note:**

> warning: cursing / swearing
> 
> leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed! and check out my [tumblr](https://potter-the-poltergeist.tumblr.com) :)

Trial One.

“Padfoot, just use your wand.”

“Brilliant, Prongs, and I so would, if you hadn’t _flushed it down the toilet_ -”

“Oi, that was an accident!”

“Shut _up,_ ” Remus hissed from around the corner, and at the same time, Peter muttered out of the corner of his lips, “No catfights in the halls, gentlemen.”

Sirius gave each of them some nervous side-eye before leaning against the wall and smoothing out a bit of parchment. It had dark red ink that wavered at every touch, but no names appeared. “It’s bugging again.” The other three groaned and huddled around the parchment, heads bent together, and eyebrows scrunched in concentration. Remus chewed the inside of his cheek anxiously. “Probably shouldn’t have it out in the open when it’s no use.”

James snorted. “Open? We’re forming a human wall around it. Keep your knickers on, Moony.”

Remus glared at him but said nothing.

After letting Peter poke it a few times with his wand to see if that changed anything, Sirius heaved a dramatic sigh. “Back to the drawing board, boys.”

A dejected mumbling from James of “mischief managed” and the four trudged back down the halls.

~~~

Trial Two.

“Why’s the whole thing upside-down and backwards? Wait, actually- no, that’s just the first floor. And the fifth floor.”

“And the astronomy tower.”

“And the kitchens.”

“And the owlery.”

A collective sigh sounded from the group.

~~~

Trial Three.

“Alright, lads, let’s see what we’re- oh, damn, half the castle’s missing.”

~~~

Trial Four.

“Merlin, Padfoot, did you write this running on four bottles of firewhiskey, because that handwriting is absolutely illegible.”

“Oh, shut up, Moony.”

~~~

Trial Five.

“Peter, where is the third floor?”

“…on the back?”

~~~

Trial Six.

“Aaaaand the ink is green and silver. Why is the ink green and silver?!”

“Also, the Great Hall is miss-”

_“Green and silver!”_

~~~

Trial Seven.

James stood in front of the other three, hands on his hips, looking fiercely determined. Remus, Sirius, and Peter, however, sat on the couch wearing quite dismal expressions indeed.

“Alright, lads, it’s time to rally!” James cried, pumping a fist in the air. “We’ve been braving the task at hand valiantly. And we knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Nay-” the boys exchanged looks; whenever James launched into medieval terminology, he was on the cusp of insanity- “it hath proven extremely challenging. But never fear!” He swung his arms wildly about. “For we are nearing a breakthrough, I can sense it! I can feel it in these very bones o’ mine.”

“Mate, you’ve officially gone ‘round the twi-”

“Bup bup bup bup!” James exclaimed, pressing three fingers to Remus’s mouth, ignoring the others’ bewildered looks. (Remus only seemed further annoyed.) “I will not hear such negativity in this sacred space! It shall dampen our creativity, comrades! So, seriously,” he added, dropping the ridiculously exaggerated accent, “we can’t quit now. We were so close last time, just-” He sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “It would be utterly spectacular if this worked.”

Sirius stood up, his gray eyes glinting in the firelight. “That was one hell of a speech, Prongs.” The two shook hands solemnly. It took about 0.02 seconds after that for them to dissolve into laughter. “Onward!” Sirius cried, and James followed him up the stairs and into the dormitory.

Remus turned to his side. “Are they actually-” But Peter had stood up, too, and he was now staring at Remus with an expression that read, “if you don’t come and keep their recklessness at bay, then they’re going to blow up the castle, and it will be partially your fault.” So Remus followed him up to the dormitory, too.

~~~

Trial Eight.

The inky footprints faded after less than ten seconds.

~~~

Trial Nine.

The rooms tended to float around on the map as they pleased, ignoring the layout provided for them.

~~~

Trial Ten.

About four minutes after they finished it, the parchment spontaneously combusted into flames, yellowed pages curling black on the edges.

“Well, shit,” Remus muttered. The other three silently signaled their agreement and pulled out new pieces of parchment.

~~~

Trial Twenty-Four.

“Okay, ready?” James glanced around at the room for permission to unfold the tediously challenging experiment in front of him. The other three nodded. All eyes stared at the parchment as he tapped it softly and whispered, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Deep red ink spread from the center of the parchment, reaching the very edges, branching out in utterly complicated designs, and then-

“Oh my gods,” Peter whispered in awe. “Is that-”

A minuscule trail of footprints appeared through the corridors, marked with a banner that read, “Severus Snape.”

“Snivellus,” Remus said proudly, “is sneaking out of the dungeons. Right. Now.”

“Holy crap,” Sirius mumbled. He fell onto his back, eyes wide. “Holy shit.”

James ran a (slightly trembling) hand through his messy black hair. “We did it, boys. We fucking did it.”

**Author's Note:**

> leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed! and check out my [tumblr](https://potter-the-poltergeist.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
